Hermès Names Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski as Creative Director

Well, that didn’t take long. Only days after announcing that Christophe Lemaire would be leaving the brand to focus on his eponymous collection, Hermès announced on Thursday that Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski, most recently the head of ready-to-wear at The Row, will take over as its womenswear creative director, according to Women’s Wear Daily.

It’s not immediately clear what Vanhee-Cybulski’s appointment will mean to accessories fiends; at Hermès, more so than at most other brands, there is almost a church-and-state separation between what goes on in ready-to-wear and how decisions are made about the brand’s iconic, immensely profitable leather goods, silks and accessories. The 36-year-old Frenchwoman won’t oversee handbags, but her aesthetic will no doubt influence those who do in certain ways.

Vanhee-Cybulski has spent the bulk of her career at Maison Martin Margiela, Céline and The Row, which, as the New York Times’ Vanessa Friedman points out, gives a strong indication that Hermès is committed to pursuing the expansion of its ready-to-wear business in the most restrained and dignified of manners. Get ready for more ultra-luxurious minimalism, which is, of course, a look that translates extremely well from clothes to handbags and accessories.